Oundle Restaurant Guide

Celebrating its 10th year, this “very lively option with good cooking on Oundle Wharf” is “now a stalwart of the local dining scene”, with an “interesting menu that showcases local produce” – and “the beers are not too bad either, being brewed next door” at the Nene Valley brewery.

“Exquisite food with fabulous presentation, every time” is again hailed at Lee Clarke’s relocated venue, which moved in 2021 into the revamped Grade II-listed Haycock Manor Hotel, in a lovely village near Peterborough. “My wife and I had eaten three times at Prevost when it was in town – standards have remained high as Lee’s imagination and the technique of his chefs is perhaps even more precise here, with a multi-course menu that’s a delightful taste journey”.

Open again from October 2023 (shortly after our guide goes to press) – this “lovely thatched pub just off the westbound A14 trunk road” is ‘under exciting new management’ (at least that’s what the website says…). It received consistent praise as a “go-to place for many years”, with good-value cuisine and a high-quality wine list – here’s hoping that continues.

Adebola Adeshina (ex-Gordon Ramsay) left London to set up this restaurant in a Grade II-listed thatched pub. Fans say that this fine diner is “very romantic” and “superb all round” – while, for the odd critic, “dishes are picture perfect but tastes lack follow-through”. PS – Adeshina has now developed the open space behind the pub into a casual summer lunch spot, The Yard.

This enormous, plush, ivy-clad coaching inn has played host to luminaries including Charles I and Sir Walter Scott and sits on the Great Northern Road as it enters this stunning Georgian town. “Afternoon tea is a speciality – truly an English tradition that should not just be for tourists, but for everyone!”, while the august oak-panelled dining room offers old-fashioned traditional delights such as rib of beef carved from the trolley, backed by a selection from their biblical wine list. It is noted that “prices have continued to creep up”, but this venue has long been a ‘hang the expense’ kind of treat.

“A lovely old pub in the bar and more ancient parts (the newer additions are slightly less appealing – tip: avoid the dining room and stay in the original section if you can!)” – this characterful inn with its great Rutland Water setting put in a “less checkered” performance this year. That said, standards can still be “more ordinary than in the past – pleasant enough” and “readers are advised to be cautious in their expectations!”. “Beautiful walks for after a meal though!”

“Quirky in a good way” – a modern bar/restaurant in sixteenth-century premises owned by brothers Oliver & Joseph Regis, who decided Stamford needed something a little different back in 2020. Chef Dameon Clarke (ex-of Rywell’s Wicked Witch) is at the pass of the “very snug restaurant” where the “ever-changing” menu includes “small plates which are a little eclectic but excellent value”.

2023 Review: “Should you be visiting Burghley House, make sure to take some time to stroll around one of England’s most beautiful towns”. To eat, consider this “lovely Italian” where the food is “quite traditional, but great quality ingredients elevate the overall platter”. “After lunch, pop next door and shop for the same ingredients in their deli.” Top Menu Tip – “the polpette made with pork and a smidge of ‘nduja, which gives it a lovely scented and spicy undertone”.